Summary Judgment Entered In Negligence Action Where Plaintiff Precluded From Offering Evidence Due to a Discovery Sanctions Order

In the case of Johnson v. Milewski Towing, No. 15 - CV - 1372, 2019 WL 1302459 (C.P. Lacka. Co. 2019 Nealon, J.), the court addressed a Motion for Summary Judgment filed by a Defendant after a discovery sanctions Order had been previously entered by another judge on the same bench barring the Plaintiff “from offering evidence at the trial of this matter.”   

According to the Opinion, this matter arose out of a single vehicle accident after which there was an altercation between the Plaintiff and the driver of the Defendant's tow truck.

The court reaffirmed the general rule that, in negligence matters, unless the causal connection between the Defendant’s alleged negligence and the Plaintiff’s alleged harm is so obvious as to be within the common knowledge of the average juror, expert medical testimony is required to establish causation.

Due to the sanctions Order and the Plaintiff’s continuous failure to respond to his attorney’s request for information, the Plaintiff was found to be unable to produce sufficient evidence to establish all of the elements of the negligence cause of action.  

As a result, the court ruled that the Defendant was entitled to judgment in its favor. Accordingly, the Motion for Summary Judgment. 

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